It is impossible to watch Euphoria without becoming ridiculously obsessed with Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer). She is truly a perfect character. From the moment she said “Bitch, this isn’t the ’80s. You need to catch a dick!” in response to learning that Kat was still a virgin, I knew I was going to love her forever. But the tragic thing is, Jules has had a pretty rough go. Her backstory is totally heartbreaking. Here’s what we know about it so far, including what you need to refresh your memory on before you watch the Jules-focused Euphoria bridge episode this weekend.
She moved to town after her parents’ divorce.
In the very first episode, it’s explained that Jules is the new kid in town. (We just don’t know exactly where that town is, because it’s never stated. Irrelevant, I guess!) She moved from a city to the suburbs with her dad. As Rue’s narrating, she mentions she isn’t fully sure what happened in Jules’s parents’ divorce but that it must have been pretty nasty because fathers rarely get full custody. There is a scene in which Rue says that around the time Jules got better, her mom got “worse,” but there are no further details just yet.
She was admitted to a psychiatric hospital as a child.
When Jules was 11, her mom took her on a “road trip” to see a psychiatrist. At the end of the session, she was told that she was being given a tour of a psychiatric hospital. About halfway through the tour, Jules realized that her mother had lied and she was being admitted to the unit. During her stay in the psychiatric hospital, she self-harms, but she is eventually able to leave once she recovers. When Jules gets home, she continues to develop a great relationship with her dad, but things with her mom stay strained.
Jules started to transition when she was 13.
Jules began transitioning at 13 years old, which Hunter explains “is pretty young in the scheme of trans people.” Hunter also says that Jules was able to transition so young because she has a very supportive father.
“It’s hard to acquire the resources at that age to move forward with that process and be able to recognize all of your needs, mentally and physically. I think her dad being supportive allows her to be where she’s at when we first meet her, so it’s pretty vital.” BTW, in the show, Jules is 17.
There’s a deep-rooted reason Jules looks for violent sexual interactions.
In a video for the Euphoria Unfiltered series that runs at the end of each episode, Hunter explains why Jules seeks out violent sexual experiences with primarily white, cisgender men.
“I think Jules is in constant search of affirmation and ‘love.’ Jules being transfeminine and having this relationship to womanhood, seeing women in her life being treated a certain way by men, and a certain dynamic playing out in almost every interaction she’s witnessed…I think it goes back to something deep-rooted, like transitioning, wanted to be treated a certain way by a man in order to feel like a woman in this very binary vantage point.”
Where Rue fits in:
Rue has said that becoming friends with Jules is one of the best things that’s happened to her. It totally seems like the same thing applies for Jules.
“Since she’s moved here and met Rue, Rue’s been there for her. And then, these interactions with men continue to happen as their relationship moves forward,” Hunter says. “It clicks for her that obviously Rue likes her and feels something deeper for her. We start to see the beginning of her being able to find a new, healthier intimacy without violence or violent dynamics.”
Looking forward
At the end of season 1, Rue and Jules ended up separated because Jules wanted to run away and Rue decided not to go. There was a very dramatic “I can’t get on the train” scene that was, to put it lightly, heartbreaking.
The show hasn’t returned for season 2 yet, but there’s a “bridge” episode focusing on Jules that just dropped on HBO, and based on the preview, it looks like we’re going to get even more backstory as Jules tries to reckon with what happened between her and Rue.
